| Park County related photos, articles and stories |
Glynn Q. Lane Jr., Captain of the USS Park County beginning in July, 1968 passed away on Friday, May 27th 2005. |
USS Park County, LST 1077 was commissioned in May, 1945. Park County saw service in WWII, the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War. Here you will find many stories, photographs and articles contributed by sailors who manned the Park County during her various services in the United States Navy.
A reunion for all Park, Sutter and Litchfield County crew members is planned for July 10th-12th 2009 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Click the links at left for more information.
IMPORTANT! For those who have not already done so, it's time to mail checks to cover the costs of reunion activities. Please see the note below from Mike Kempf:
Gentleman,
Your $60.00 per attendee payment for the USS Park, Litchfield and Sutter County Reunion are now due. The reunion fee covers our Friday and Saturday evening dinners. The hotel requires payment 30 days in advance of our event. Please make your check payable to the USS Park, Litchfield and Sutter County Reunion.
Mail your check to:
USS Park Litchfield & Sutter County Reunion, LLC
c/o Michael W. Kempf
7855 Stonehurst Drive
Indianapolis, IN 46256
Questions concerning the reunion may be directed to me by phone at 317 490-4229, or by email at m.w.kempf@sbcglobal.net.
I look forward to seeing you in Indianapolis. Regards,
Mike Kempf
More reunion information is located at the bottom of this page.
The reunion has also been posted on the Military.com web site.
New! Great photos contributed by Lt George Bollow
New! Photos contributed by Capt. Dobrosky
Click to view larger image of P.C.
Naval Advisory Detachment information and links USNAD was supported by the Mobile Support Team, based at the Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado, CA. NAD conducted clandestine operations in the waters of Vietnam from a base in Danang. The main craft used in these operations was the Norweigan designed 80' PT boat named "Tjeld", translated to "Nasty". The US Navy designation of these boats is PTF-Nasty. |
NAD and PTF links, photos and stories |
Thursday, July 9, 2009
USS LST 325 Tour
0800 Depart Downtown Hotel
0830 Depart Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza1130 Lunch – Stoll’s Country Inn; Evansville
1315 Arrive LST 325
Cost: $10.00 per person1545 Depart LST 325 for Jasper, IN
1800 Dinner – Schniltzelbank Restaurant
1915 Depart Jasper for Indianapolis
2200 Arrive Downtown Hilton
Friday, July 10, 2009
0900 Registration Desk Opens
Hilton Hospitality Suite1000 Downtown Walking Tour
Soldiers & Sailors Monument
WW II Memorial
Veterans Memorial PlazaIndianapolis Public Library – Lunch And View of Downtown
or
Scottish Rite Cathedral - Lunch1200 Others – Lunch on Your Own
1330 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum And Tour of Indianapolis Track
or
Others Tour on your Own1630 Veteran’s Benefits Seminar- Jim Disney – Certified VA Counselor
CO's Night Out
1800 - Social Hour - Meet & Greet**
1900 - Pledge to the Flag
Invocation
John Q. Lesher, CDR, CHC, USN (Ret)
LANSHIPRON-3Pizza Dinner
Commanding Officer's Remarks
USS Park County (LST 1077)
Capt. John Dobrosky
1965-1968USS Litchfield County (LST 901)
Capt. Charles Bryant
1966-1968Capt. R.E. "ED" Zunich
1968-1969USS Sutter County (LST 1150)
Capt. Larry Massa
1966-1967Capt. Larry Giuffreda
1967-1968Departing Remarks - Mike Kempf
** Casual Attire
Saturday, July 11, 2009
0900 Hospitality Suite opens for the day.
1000 Downtown Walking Tour
State Capitol
Medal of Honor Memorial
USS Indianapolis MemorialShopping - On Your Own
Lunch & Afternoon – On Your Own!
1400 Reunion Business Meeting
Future Reunion Planning
(All are welcome)
1800 Social Hour - Meet & Greet
1900 - Welcome
Michael Kempf - Reunion OrganizerInvocation
John Q. Lesher, CDR, CHC, USN (Ret)
LANSHIPRON-3
Flag Salute
Two-Bell Ceremony
David McCuistionDinner
Introduction of Speakers
Captain Peter Orvis
COMLANSHIPRON-3
By Michael KempfCaptain John Gannon USN (Ret)
USS Park County (LST 1077)
Former Deputy Director,
Central Intelligence Agency
by Alan SandovalClosing Remarks
Captain Guy Simmons
Chairman, USS Park, Litchfield & Sutter County Reunion, LLC**Slacks & Sport Shirt for Gentlemen
Casual for Ladies
Sunday, July 12, 2009
0700- Farewell Breakfast
1000 Hilton Hotel
120 West Fresh Market Grill
First floor of the Hilton--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gentlemen,
The reunion for the USS Park, Litchfield and Sutter County crews is now just a little over one week away. Currently, we have 71 former crew members of the three ships registered for the reunion. This includes 31 from the Park County. Including their guests, we have 112 folks registered for our Friday and Saturday evening gatherings. Joining us will be Mr. Cleo Grovier, who was the youngest enlisted man aboard the 1077 when it was commissioned in 1945. More than 50 of those attending plan to tour LST 325 in Evansville.
At our Saturday evening gathering, John Gannon, who served as the Engineering Officer in 1969 and 1970, will be our speaker. John went on to become the Deputy Director of CIA. John has indicated that his talk will cover the challenges the United States faced during the Viet Nam era, and compare that with the situation the United States faces today. I look forward to hearing John's perspective.
For those of you who plan to attend and have not yet registered, please keep in mind that registration is a two step process. First, register for the reunion at the ussparkcounty.com website. Second, you must also make your hotel reservations directly with the hotel. The Park County website provides the reunion hotel information. I received a call today from someone who told me that the Hilton had informed them that our block of rooms were all taken. I will attempt to secure additional rooms at the Hilton on Monday. If I am unsuccessful, the alternate hotel is the Columbia Club. The Columbia Club is an elegant facility and is just a block east of the Hilton. Information on the Columbia Club is also available on their website: Columbia Club
As most of you are aware, the USS Park County, (or as it was known in WWII) LST-1077, was commissioned in early 1945. It saw action during the last year of WWII, reactivated for service in Korea, and again in early 1966 for service in Viet Nam. During that time, hundreds of sailors served on the her. Thus far, we have identified over 460 of these individuals. Attached are two files (both containing the same data, but in different file formats) that provide the information we have gathered thus far. My challenge to you is this, help us fill in the missing information. If you are interested, please contact me and I will help you get started. All I can say is, the internet is an amazing tool.
In closing, I encourage you to check out the crew lists and if you see an old shipmate, contact him and join us in Indianapolis in July. I sincerely hope that you circumstances will permit you to be with us.
As always, do feel free to contact me with any questions.
Regards,
Mike Kempf
USS Park County '66-'67
7855 Stonehurst Drive
Indianapolis, IN 46256
Res: 317 842-1229
Cell: 317 490-4229
Email: m.w.kempf@sbcglobal.net